Former Labour Party presidential candidate Peter Obi has strongly criticized the Federal Government’s introduction of a 0.5% cybersecurity levy on electronic transactions. Obi’s reaction comes after the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) condemned the levy as another burden on Nigerians.
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) announced the levy, which will affect all electronic transactions, including bank transactions, and is set to take effect two weeks from May 6. Reacting to the announcement, the NLC has called for the reversal of the policy, citing its impact on workers’ disposable income and the purchasing power of citizens.
Obi described the levy as “yet another form of tax on the suffering masses” in a recent social media post. He stated, “The government is more interested in milking a dying economy instead of nurturing it to recovery and growth.” He emphasized that the levy will further erode businesses’ trading capital, exacerbating the effects of Naira devaluation and high inflation.
Obi argued that the government should be reducing taxes to curb inflation, but instead, it is introducing new taxes. He questioned the role of the Office of the National Security Adviser (NSA) in collecting revenue, stating, “When did the office of the NSA become a revenue collecting centre?”
The NLC President, Joe Ajaero, had earlier rejected the policy, saying, “Such deductions directly affect the disposable income of workers and further diminish the purchasing power of the common citizens.”
The introduction of the cybersecurity levy has also sparked widespread criticism among Nigerians and civil society organizations, with many calling for its reversal.